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Still split on whether to appoint Etta Waterfield to its fifth vacant seat, the Santa Maria City Council voted 3-1 on Feb. 5 to start accepting applications from city residents to fill the position. Alice Patino, who relinquished her council seat in January to become Santa Maria’s first female mayor, cast the sole dissenting vote. […]

The Santa Barbara County Election’s Office announced a little before 6 p.m. on Dec. 4 that Terri Zuniga was the top vote-getter in the race for Santa Maria City Council with 9,728 votes. “My phone was blowing up with people saying, ‘It’s 5 o’clock. Why haven’t they posted it yet?’ I just kept refreshing my […]

An anonymous letter sent to local media by a group of “concerned professional firefighters” is raising some concerns about Santa Barbara County’s emergency aviation unit, a joint program between the sheriff’s and fire departments. The departments officially consolidated their helicopter fleets back in July to save the county money on maintenance and training costs. Sheriff […]

The Sun has confirmed with sources at the city of Santa Maria that Police Chief Dan Macagni has been placed on paid administrative leave. City Manager Rick Haydon said Cmdr. Craig Ritz will oversee the department in Macagni’s absence.

            Santa Maria police chief Danny Macagni, who came under increased scrutiny in recent months as a result of officer-involved shootings and an outside audit of his department, has retired, city officials announced Aug. 3.          Macagni’s retirement is effective immediately.           “On behalf of the City of Santa Maria, we would like to extend […]

       A Santa Maria police officer was justified in using deadly force in the shooting of fellow officer Albert Covarrubias, Jr., the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office concluded on June 19.          In a detailed, 18-page report, District Attorney Joyce Dudley determined officer Matthew Kline reacted appropriately to a “life-threatening situation” when he shot […]

Read the complete report at http://www.countyofsb.org/da/msm_county/documents/Report_OIS_AlbertCovarrubias.pdf.

         The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department just got a lot handsomer. Central Coast anchorman Tony Cipolla has been selected as the new public information officer.          According to a department news release, Cipolla was formally offered the position on June 14 after completing a lengthy vetting process. He will replace former PIO Rob […]

Glenn Goldin, a spokesman for Unity of Purpose for our Kids, served board member Will Smith with a notice of intent to recall at the Santa Maria-Bonita School District Board of Education meeting on May 16. Additionally, the school board voted 4-1 (with Smith dissenting) to create an ad hoc committee to investigate Smith’s behavior. […]

           In late February, the Woodland Hills-based law offices of Goldberg and Gage sent a notice of governmental claim to the city of Santa Maria on behalf of “Jane Doe,” identified in the notice as the “Explorer raped by Santa Maria Police Officer Albert Covarrubias, Jr.”          Such a notice is usually the first […]

The Sun has received information that several employees have been laid off at local news station KCOY. According to a source close to the news affiliate, a dozen people were let go on Jan. 4, including meteorologist Jim Byrne. Parent company KION TV in Salinas has yet to make an official announcement about possible changes […]

Longtime Santa Maria City Manager Tim Ness announced his pending retirement before the City Council on Oct. 18. After conducting their regular business, the council members retired to closed session to discuss how to fill Ness’ position. On Oct. 19, city officials sent out a press release stating Assistant City Manager Rick Haydon will become […]